Page 30 of A Linton Scandal

“Don’t kill them,” he ordered as he bent slightly and undid the leather strap around my mouth. I didn’t speak immediately, afraid that if I did it would prove this all wasn’t a bad dream I’d conjured up to escape the horror of what was happening to me.

He quickly undid the other bonds and swept me off the table into his arms. I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my face against his neck. I couldn’t stop the tears of relief that poured out as I silently sobbed in his arms.

Expressing myself had always been hard, sometimes I felt almost embarrassed about showing emotion. But at this moment I didn’t care one bit. I didn’t look up once as he carried me out of what would have been the site of my death.

Rescued

Mihai

The sensation of her warm tears against my neck pierced my heart. My chest felt uncomfortable, Juliette hadn’t said a single word since I’d lifted her off the table or as I carried her outside and placed her in the back of the SUV.

After setting her down I turned to speak with Nao, but she grabbed my arm. And without looking at me she asked. “What are you going to do to them?”

There were only two options of how I would deal with those who’d dared to think they could harm my woman.. I didn’t want to lie to her, so I avoided her gaze. “I will deal with them appropriately.”

The silence grew between us, until she finally loosened her hold of my jacket. “Okay,” she whispered.

I took a step back, and swiftly closed the door afraid she’d ask me another question and I’d expose myself fully to her. She didn’t need to know about the other side of me that I kept well hidden from the public, returning my attention to Nao. I ordered him to remain with Juliette.

Re-entering the building, I was greeted by the sound of flesh hitting flesh followed by a masculine scream of pain. It was music to my ears. As I drew closer to the ring of men, who surrounded the four who’d made their move against me. I was amused by the sight of one of them, who was currently begging Callin who was waving a brick nonchalantly over his knee; not to drop it.

“Callin, before you finish let me speak with him,” I said. Callin immediately retreated a step, nodding to his men who released the hitman and walked away. The hitman visibly relaxed as Callin retreated.

Stopping by his side, I kept a pleasant smile on my face to hide the boiling rage inside. “What’s your name?”

The man eyed me as he quickly scrambled to his feet, he probably thought he could beat a quick retreat if he was standing. He took a step forward, his expression cold. “Dan.”

“Well Dan, I don’t really like wasting my time, so I’ll cut to the chase. Who hired you?” I spoke softly. And while it would make my life easier if he answered immediately, I also wished for him to be difficult, I wanted to use crude means to get the answers out of him.

Dan disappointed me. “I was hired through a broker, I don’t know who actually requested the job. It was a slip application like my usual jobs.”

I sighed, tilting my head back. “Stern? Does that name ring a bell?”

There was a moment of silence, before Dan said no. “We usually don’t know the name of the person who hires us for our jobs, and even if we did. The minute we tell the name?—”

I opened my eyes as his body hit the floor. I wished to thank whoever covered the floor in plastic. It would make it so much easier to clean up. Callin lowered his gun. “Should I do the same to the other two?” He asked as Dan’s body was dragged away.

I glanced at the two other men who hadn’t spoken. The one with a weird smile seemed okay with dying. The other one hadn’t spoken a word, but I could clearly see the coating of nervous sweat on his forehead. “No, take them to the locker and find out who assigns them their jobs after that turn them over to Max.”

With that, I turned around and headed back out. I thought over the list of men I’d suspected of orchestrating that night two months ago and cursed myself for letting them go. It was time I started dealing with them one at a time, and once that was done, I would be able to rest a bit. Not that my enemies would diminish. Linton’s always had enemies.

It was time to clean out the rats, but I first needed to take care of Juliette.

Juliette

Entering my apartment with Mihai a few hours later felt almost surreal. The fact that it still looked the exact same and the smell was familiar made it a stark contrast to where I’d been. Which only made me feel bitter.

I brushed a hand over my stomach and pursed my lips together. I couldn’t stop the ripples of fear that continued to run through me. If I had doubted for even a second, whether Mihai had been telling the truth about my life being in danger. It was all gone now.

The only question I had was who out there thought my child was a threat.

It wasn’t like Mihai didn’t already have a son, so I wasn’t exactly planning on my child inheriting anything. In fact, everything felt like some cheesy plot to some dramatic soap opera.

“We should move ahead with our plans.”

I paused at the entrance to my bedroom and turned to look at Mihai. “What?”

He continued. “We should get married and have you move in, before the end of this week.”